Mechanism for applying a liquid to a rotary cylinder



p 1962 P. ZERNOV ET AL 3,052,183

MECHANISM FOR APPLYING A LIQUID TO A ROTARY CYLINDER Filed Aug. 13, 1959 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTORS PETER Z E RN OV Attorneys MECHANISM FOR APPLYING A LIQUID TO A ROTARY CYLINDER Sept. 4, 19 P. ZERNOV ET AL 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Aug. 13, 1959 H IIIIIIII I INVENTORS. PETER ZERNOV ROBERT R TRAUPMANN AHorneys Sept. 4, 1962 p z R ov ET AL 3,052,183

MECHANISM FOR APPLYING A LIQUID TO A ROTARY CYLINDER 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Aug. 13, 1959 IN VENTORS PETER ZERNOV ROBERT R. TRAUPMANN Attorneys United States Patent Ofifice 3,052,183 Patented Sept. 4, 1962 Delaware Filed Aug. 13, 1959, Ser. No. 833,610 3 Claims. (Cl. 101-457) This invention relates to high speed rotary printing presses, laminators or the like, and more particularly to means for applying ink or adhesive to the printing or adhesive applying cylinders.

In intaglio presses, a highly volatile and quick drying ink is employed and it is desirable to use the minimum amount of ink in the system which is consistent with adequate coverage or submersion of the cylinder in the ink. Similarly, in laminators, the adhesive is of a very quick drying type and readily dries when exposed sufficiently to air. In other words, because of the evaporative action of the ink or quick drying of the adhesive, it is desirable to expose only a minimum of the vehicle surface.

In mechanisms of the general type to which this invention pertains, a continuous or circulating flow of the liquid past the cylinder is utilized and it is also necessary to provide adequate liquid pressure or impactive action against the rotating cylinder 'in order to wash and/ or fill the minute cells in the cylinder surface.

Furthermore, the cylinder must be interchangeable with others of difierent diameter and heretofore it has been necessary to sacrifice some of the above desirable characteristics in order to avoid numerous adjustments and changing of parts, for example, such as changing the size of the liquid trough or manifold in which the cylinder rotates. Stated otherwise, for the sake of ready adjustability, a compromise has heretofore been tolerated in the most eflicient positioning and shape of the trough relative to the cylinder.

Accordingly, the present invention provides an improved liquid trough which insures all of the above desirable characteristics of liquid feed regardless of cylinder diameter, and which trough is readily adjustable to accurately and efiiciently accommodate different diameter cylinders.

More particularly, the present invention contemplates a flexible curtain which forms the liquid pan or trough, which curtain can be easily adjusted to various diameter cylinders, and can be easily removed and cleaned.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will appear hereinafter as this disclosure progresses, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is an end elevational view, in section of a printing press embodying the present invention certain parts being broken away or removed for clarity, the view being taken generally from line 11 in FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 2 is a fragmentary plan view taken generally along line 2-2 in FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary front view taken on line 3-3 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 4 is a perspective view taken generally from the front, lower side of the press and showing the fountain in the lowered non-operative position, with parts of the machine removed or broken away;

FIGURE 5 is an enlarged, perspective view of a front corner of the fountain, and

FIGURE 6 is a perspective view of one end of a modified form of curtain without sidewalls.

While the invention will be shown and described par ticularly in connection with a printing press of the intaglio type, it may find utility elsewhere; as indicated above, it is not intended to limit the scope of the invention to ink applying mechanisms.

Referring in greater detail to the drawings, a conventional rotogravure cylinder 10 is mounted on a shaft '11 which is j'ournalled in bearings 12 in the side frames 13 of a press. A conventional impression roll 14 cooperates with the cylinder to print in the known manner.

Fountain The high speed printing cylinder is enclosed in a sheet metal fountain 16 which includes the inclined bottom 17, front wall 18 including the transversely extending reinforcing channel 18a and the spaced blocks 18b welded thereto, wall 19 and side walls 20 and 21. Each of the side walls have an open slot 22 through which the cylinder shaft .11 extends. The fountain has a fixed cover 23 and a removable cover 24.

A return conduit 25 places the lowest point of the fountain in ink delivering communication with a pump or other mechanism (not shown) for recirculation of the ink to the stationary applicator tube 26. The tube is secured only at one end in the wall 13 (FIGURE 2) and extends otherwise unsupported therefrom.

The fountain is shiftable by linkage L (FIGURE 4) between the lower non-operative position shown in that figure, to the raised operative position of FIGURES 1 and 2. When the fountain is moved upwardly, the semicircular bearing 2% carried on the tube 26 is sealingly engaged by the side wall 20 of the fountain.

Blade Assembly Any conventional doctor blade assembly 27 (shown by broken lines in FIGURE 1) may be utilized with the present invention, and this assembly is mounted on the side walls of the machine and the position of the blade B is easily adjustable to accommodate various diameter cylinders.

Cylinders The cylinder 10 shown in FIGURE 1 is relatively small in diameter and the maximum size of a cylinder usable with the press shown may be as large as that indicated by the dotted line 28. Therefore, the use of a considerable range of cylinder diameters is contemplated with this invention.

Curtain In accordance with the present invention, a flexible curtain 30 extends across the fountain and beneath the cylinder 10 and is clamped at its rear edge to the tubular member 31 by the bar 32. The member 31 is releasably held at each end in a bracket 33 secured to the side Walls of the fountain. The front edge of the curtain is secured to a roller 36 in the form of a tubular member which is square in cross section.

The flexible curtain 30 is folded upwardly along each of its longitudinal sides to form side walls 30w. A suitable number of pleats 30p in the side walls, which may be held together by clips 30c, or the like, allow the latter to extend or contract in accordance with the cylinder size being used.

The curtain must be made from a material which is stable in the ink solvent and one which is not attacked thereby. Furthermore, the curtain cannot have any stretch characteristics and must not have an aflinity for glue or ink to adhere thereto. A particular material which has proved to be desirable for providing these characteristics for the curtain is Fiberglas impregnated with Teflon. The Fiberglas is stretchproof while the Teflon is inert to solvents and has no affinity for glue or other liquids.

Curtain Roller The curtain is wound around the square roller 36 and Support Frame and Blade HusingC0arse Adjustment The support frame 40 includes a transverse bar 45 having a pair of vertically disposed and apertured members 46 welded thereto in alignment with their respective blocks 18b. Thumb screws 47 extend through any selected one of a plurality of apertures 48 and are threadably engaged in the blocks to hold the support frame in any one of a plurality of vertical positions. In this manner a coarse adjustment of curtain position in the fountain may be readily made. I

A housing H for the blade assembly is carried by the support frame and includes end cups 50 and 51 which have upwardly facing openings 52 through which the doctor blade shaft 53 is adapted to extend so that the cups are positionable closely adjacent the doctor blade mechanism, and substantially enclose the blade assembly within the fountain. These sheet metal end cups are secured together by the housing wall 54 which slides up and down along the inside of the front wall 18 of the fountain. The wall 34 terminates at its upper edge in an inwardly turned flange 55 on which the curtain can hear when accommodating larger cylinders. The flange 55 together with a lower flange 56, act to rigidify the housing H. This housing H also includes lower side portions 57 which vertically slide along the inside of the fountain side walls. The housing H and its support frame are thus vertically adjustable together as a unit and this vertical adjustment of the front end of the curtain together with the housing, in accordance with the vertical adjustment of the doctor blade for various diameter cylinders, insures a closed fountain at all times.

Fine Adjustment of Curtain The curtain roller 36 is releasably mounted on the support frame 40, and the roller together with blade assembly housing H are vertically adjustable relative to the rest of the support frame for fine adjustment of the curtain relative to the cylinder, as follows.

Each end of the roller is insertable in a bracket 60 and held captive therein by a bail 61 which is slidingly pivoted to the bracket and is swingable between the open position shown at the right hand end of FIGURE 4 and closed position shown in the other figures. A threaded rod 63 is secured to each of the brackets and extends downwardly to 'be threadably engaged in the sleeve 64 secured through and to each end of bar 45. A thumb screw 66 is in threadable engagement with rod 63 and by turning the screw a vernier adjustment can be made to the curtain in a vertical direction.

The blade assembly housing is rigidly secured to the brackets 60 by means ofstraps 68 which are welded at their rear ends to the housing and through the other ends of which the rods 63 extend and are held secured by the nuts 69. Thus the thumb screws 66 provide a fine adjustment for both the curtain roller and blade assembly housing. This provides any desired degree of clearance between the curtain and cylinder, which clearance varies ap proximately from A to A; of an inch. This clearance must be closely controlled for best results and is dependent on many factors, such as for example, the type of viscosity of the vehicle being used and the type of cylinder.

the cylinder where it builds up to a depth of approximately one-half inch or more as indicated at I. ,The curtain is wrapped around a sufi'icient length of the cylinder circumference to insure sufficient liquid pressure thereagainst. At the discharge side of the cylinder the liquid may build up to a considerable depth as indicated at D, and an excessive amount of liquid is pumped to maintain a high well as the discharge side of the cylinder. By means of the curtain sidewalls 30w, the amount of excessive liquid, which is necessary to maintain this Well depth, is held to a minimum. In other words, the side walls prevent immediate run off of the liquid at each side of the curtain and form a pocket for the liquid. In the case of ink, for example, by holding the amount of ink down to a minimum, excessive solvent loss is eliminated.

Other means for forming the sidewalls may be employed, but the integrally formed walls 30w permit thorough and easy cleaning of the curtain when removed.

When used with liquids of certain types or viscosity, the extensible side walls 30w may not be necessary, and this modification is shown in FIGURE 6.

The present liquid applying mechanism provides simple and easy regulation of immersion depth of the cylinder, a minimum volume pan for any size cylinder, good impactive action of a sheet of liquid against the cylinder, a continually circulating supply of the liquid having a minimum exposed area, and all regardless of cylinder diameter. 1

Various modes of carrying out the invention are contemplated as being within the scope of the following claims particularly pointing out and-distinctly claiming the subject matter which is regarded as the invention.

What is claimed and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. In a machine having interchangeable rotary cylinders for applying a liquid to a surface passing thereover and also having a fountain in which one of said cylinders is rotatable at a time, said cylinder having a liquid entry side and a discharge side, a support frame shiftably mounted on said fountain adjacent said cylinder discharge side, a curtain roller rotatably adjustable on said support frame, a flexible curtain extending beneath said cylinder and closely following the contour of a portion of the circumference of said cylinder so as to maintain liquid pressure thereagainst, said portion being less than degrees, said curtain at said discharge side and said cylinder together forming an open well below the axis of said cylinder, said curtain being secured at one end to said roller whereby shifting of said support frame provides a coarse adjustment of the curtain position relative to said cylinder, and rotary adjustment of said roller on said frame will vary the effective curtain length. 1

2. A device as defined in claim 1 further characterized in that said support frame includes a housing for a doctor blade assembly.

3. In a machine having a rotary cylinder for applying a liquid to a surface passing thereover, said cylinder having a liquid entry side and a dischargeside, a flexiible curtain extending along the length of the cylinder and passing therebeneath and having a rear edge and a front edge, said curtain closely following the contour of a portion of the circumference of said cylinder but less than 90 degrees thereof, and adjustable means adjacent said discharge side for supporting the flexible curtains said front edge at a distance spaced from said cylinder so as to form an open well therewith and located below the axis thereof.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,270,374 Kanitz Jan. 20, 1942 2,272,406 Gurwick Feb. 10, 1942 2,289,798 Nadeau et al. July 14, 1942 2,376,620 Piazze May 22, 1945 2,931,297 Coudriet Apr. 5, 1960 2,951,772 Marzocchi et al. Sept. 6, 1960 

